Photography of Religious Architecture

Grotesques – the Column Swallowers (Dennis Aubrey)

We’ve seen ample evidence of the imagination of the Romanesque sculptors, but one of our recent favorites, the Column Swallower, has become the most recent proof. According to the limited research that I’ve been able to find on the subject, they are found mostly in the Aquitaine and in England. The four that I’m showing here are from the area around Poitiers, in the Vienne.

These clever figures serve as capitals, usually, and are among the many apotropaic figures found in medieval churches. The preceding column-swallower is on the west portal of the magnificent church in Civray, as is the wonderfully comic version next.

Some French observers believe that the figures represent the dangers that threaten the building, which reflect the dangers that threaten the Church itself. Some observers also believe that the creatures are not swallowing, but spewing, the columns. Whatever the purpose, they demonstrate the free-ranging imagination of the medieval sculptor.

It seems to me that the mouths are engulfing the columns and the creatures are certainly animated. In fact, some of the seem to positively relish the act. Some people refer to them as column spewers, which is also an interesting take.

Comments on Via Lucis

“There are people who take pictures, there are photographers, and then, there is Via Lucis. This is the most incredible collection of images from Medieval churches I have yet seen. These places are amazing to start with, but what Dennis Aubrey and PJ McKey accomplish in these spaces with a camera is breathtaking.”

“How do you do it – time after time after time – beautiful photographs that need no words and beautiful words that need no photographs? Combined they transport us to the deepest place of our inner selves. Your gifts of self – an eye for finding the beauty in these ancient buildings and your ability to capture that beauty and share it with others – those are your blessings on those of us fortunate enough to know of your site and follow it.” – Jay Fredrich